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S P E E C H 



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SOUTHERN AGGRESSION 



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SPEECH 



HON. L. D. CAMPBELL, OF OHIO, 

ON 

SOUTHERN AGGRESSION— THE PURPOSES OF THE UNION— AND THE COMPARATIVE 
EFFECTS OF SLAVERY AND FREEDOM. 



Delivered in the House of Representatives, February 19, 1850. 



Mr. CAMPBELL, having obtained the floor at the close of the remarks of Mr. 
Venable, of North Carolina, addressed the Committee as follows: 

Mr. Chairman : The early anxiety of young members, such as myself, who 
are without any practical experience in the affairs of legislative life, to participate 
in the debates of this body, is not regarded as a reliable promise of future useful- 
ness, either by the older members or by the country. The temerity which I ex- 
hibit may, in justice to myself, require explanation. If it does, that explanation 
must be found in the deep interest felt by the people I have the honor to represent, 
in the exciting questions to which the attention of the Committee has been called, 
and in the somewhat peculiar political relation in which I stand to the Chief 
Magistrate, whose first annual message is under consideration, as well as to the 
various political parties represented on this floor. 

It is well known, sir, to the gentleman from North Carolina, [Mr. Cling- 
MAN,] to the gentleman from Alabama, [Mr. Hilliard,] who have already 
addressed the Committee, as well as to others on this floor, whom I had the 
pleasure of meeting in the National Convention at Philadelphia, in June, 1848, 
which nominated the distinguished individual who now occupies the Presidential 
chair, that, for reasons which I then frankly gave, I considered it my duty to 
repudiate the nomination. I had the honor to represent there, the same district 
which I now represent here. T regarded then this all-absoibing proposition to ex- 
tend slavery over free Territories, as paramount to all other questions, because of 
the vast moral responsibility which it involved. I regarded it as one upon which 
every man who sought power at the hands of the people should fearlessly and 
frankly avow his sentiments. 

I had always been a Whig, perhaps an "ultra Whig." In my humble sphere I 
had labored fearlessly and ardently — if not successfully — to promote the great 
principles of that party, upon the success of which 1 sincerely believed the true 
interests of this great country depended. Before that time I had never faltered — 
never flagged — never turned my back to a political adversary! In looking around 
in the memorable contest of '48, I found one candidate pledged to veto the " Wil- 
mot Proviso" — another in whose new-born zeal for "Free Soil" I could not 
place reliance — and another whose opinions upon this question were not publicly 
declared. Finding no candidate who I believed was reliable, I wheeled out of the 
line of the "Old Whig Gu;ird," and stood as an "' armed netural" throughout the 
contest. Following the examjjle of one of the distinguished candidates who had 
never voted, for the first time in my life I withheld my suffrage. In this inde- 
pendent position I find myself on this floor, representing a constituency of free- 
men, w^illing to confide to me all their political power here over the great ques- 
tions now agitating the country from its centre to its remotesfparts. 

Sir, when a great principle is involved, I scorn an equivocal position ! And 
although I did not select between supposed evils in '48, in less than the short 
hour allotted to me, no person shall truly assert that my position upon all the 
great questions of public policy is not distinctly defined. ,^t,' 

In the sentiments of the annual message upon the importance of protection to// 
American industry — improvements of our rivers and harbors — opposition to Ex- 
ecutive influence over the Legislative branch of the Government — economy in 
public expenditures — and, above all, a determined devotion to the Union of the 
States — I recognise the " doctrines of the earlier Presidents," and the true princi- 
ples of the Whig party. I will give them my most hearty support. 



There is another item of this message which commands my especial commend- 
ation. It is that sincerely expressed desire that we may preserve, in all time, 
friendly relations with all the nations of the earth. The sad experience of the 
last lew years cannot fail to impress the mind of every one with the importance 
of honorable peace. The expression of the sentiment is truly gratifying to those 
who feel that the late war, which, if honorable to the prowess of our arms, has 
brought many woes to our people, and a vexed question which threatens the perpe- 
tuity of the institutions we revere, and is evidence that this war impressed upon 
the mind of the Executive of the nation the importance of cultivating the relations 
of friendship with the whole world. It is gratifying to me, sir, as it will be to the 
friends of peace everywhere, to find that this distinguished hero, fresh from the 
field of slaughter, where he had spent years amidst the desolating scenes of 
bloody conflict — who had so recently been ihe eye-witness to that wretchedness 
and misery which are the inevitable, bitter fruits of war, should express in strong- 
terms the deep anxiety he feels to preserve a beloved country from their dread con- 
sequences. It may be, too, that his keen perceptions have enabled him to dis- 
cover that disposition which seems to pervade our people, to regard few men as 
qualified for the discharge of civil trusts until they have either killed an Indian or 
slain a Mexican ! He may have discovered, too, that the youth of the land, look- 
ing at practical results, aie disposed to regard the pistol-gallery as affording a 
more certain road to fame than the lecture-room and the library ! According to 
strict classical tests, there may be superfluous words in his method of expressing 
a desire for peace ; but, sir, that sentiment will go home to the hearts of thou- 
sands throughout the land, whose beloved and cherished friends have fallen on 
the battle-field ! 

I came here, Mr. Chairman, untrammelled — with a firm determination to join 
in no factious opposition to this Administration; but, on the contrary, by my 
voice and my votes, to extend to it all the facilities for a full development of 
its policy. This I did in our efforts to organize ; and the same rules shall control 
my humble action until my judgment is satisfied that its measures tend to perni- 
cious results. 

Occupyinor this position, and remembering the strong ties and early attachments 
which bound me to the only political party with which I have ever been associa- 
ted, it is a source of deep regret to me that I cannot approve the whole of this 
message. It uro-es upon us that it is our duty not to provide law for the Territo- 
ries acquired by the late treaty with Mexico. I will not go into detail of argu- 
ment to show the impropriety, in my judgment, of this recommendation, as that 
subject has been discussed with more ability than I could command, by my col- 
league [Mr. Root] and others. The points of objection which I make are: 

ist. Gold is discovered in California. Thousands congregate there from all 
quarters of the globe to hunt for it, dig it, and return to their homes, and not to 
remain their permanently under any law or any form of Government. The peo- 
ple of New Mexico are citizens permanently located, for whom, by the terms of 
a solemn treaty. Congress is bound to provide a Government. The consistency 
of Executive haste in furnishing law for California, and Executive influence in 
withholding law from New Mexico, is by no means clear to my mind. I shall 
anxiously look for arguments to this point. 

'2i\. The effect of delay leaves that vast territory and its people under the 
Government of the Executive, through its military commanders. Those who have, 
for the last few years, felt the bal(>fid effects of an increase of Executive power, 
^\\\\ remember that to curtail that power instead of increasing it has universally 
been recognised as an important tenet in the Whig faith. 

3(1. It is wrong to postpone until next year that which it is our duty to do now ! 
If the Wilmot Proviso is right — if it is a good thing, we should adopt it; if it is 
wrons, we shoulil reject it. These are questions which we are as competent to dis- 
cuss and decide in a friendly and patriotic spirit now, as at any future time. '' De- 
layV arc (' nigerous." What benefit is there in delay ? None. The <iucstion must 
be nii't — A not in giving territorial law, upon the admission of States. Sir, this 
oppohilion to it from the South must be met ! California is knocking at our door 
for admission as a State. She presents a Constitution, formed in a manner con- 



formable to the most ultra Southern platform, yet the wearied eyelids of all around 
me remind us, that from twelve o'clock M. yesterday, until midnight, Southern 
men staved off a resolution proposing a bill to admit California, by a factious op- 
position, I may say, in my judgment disgraceful to this body and to the country. 
I say, then, we have nothing to hope from delay. Let us act 7ww, like men wor- 
thy of our positions. Let us meet the responsibility which the country has pla- 
ced upon us. 

Before submitting my views upon this all-absorbing topic of slavery, I desire to 
defend the section of the country, which I in part have the honor to represent, 
from unfounded charges, which are constantly preferred against it. We had 
scarcely taken the preliminary steps for an organization of this House, before the 
South in tones of thundering eloquence denounced the people of the North as 
"aggressors" — as "recreants to the Constitution "—as having for years been 
guilty of " oppression " to their brethren of the South. Li this hall— in the social 
circle — upon the highway — everywhere we met with this charge. Sir, I propose 
briefly to examine the state of this account of " aggression." 

How does it stand, as to territorial acquisitions, since the formation of the 
Union. We of the North have been opposed to an extension of our dominion. 
We have been taught by the warning voice of past republics, that — "" 

" Extended Empire like expanded gold 

Exchanges solid strength tor feeble splendor." 

^Southern policy has been different, and we have yielded. 

In 1803, we annexed Louisiana. 

Li 1819, we annexed the Territory of Florida. 

In 1845, we annexed the State of Texas. 

In 1848, we annexed by conquest California and New Mexico. 

In 1849, we have a stronger movement for annexing Cuba than we had ten 
years ago in favor of annexing Texas. 

And now the honorable gentleman from North Carolina, [Mr. Clingma.x,] no- 
tifies us that after the next Presidential election, we will annex that part of Mex- 
ico on the Gulf extending to Vera Cruz. 

The South does all this, and still persists in the cry of " aggression ! aggres- 
sion ! " Sir, the North has yielded to this system too long, and now she is deter- 
mined to stop it. 

But there are other aggressions which the North sorely feels. The honorable 
member from North Carolina,- who has just taken his seat, [Mr. Venable,] char- 
ges us with having made aggressions upon the property of the South. He did 
not inform us particularly how and when. The South may have made no di- 
rect aggressions upon Northern property, but Southern policy has aggressed upon 
our industrial interests. She has paralyzed the strong arm of the laboring tree- 
man of the North, which is his property and his capital, in order that the profits 
of her slave labor might be enhanced. From 1816 to 1832, the protective policy— 
the effects of which were to advance the interests of free labor without detriment 
to Southern interests— was supported by the combined action of both political 
parties. Its effect was to build up manufactures in the North, and furnish an in- 
creased demand for the agricultural products of the Northwest. This increased 
demand raised the price of those products which were necessary to feed the 
slaves of the cotton-growing States of the South. The cry of" repeal or nullifica- 
tion, secession and disunion;' was raised. The appalling spectacle of American 
citizens shedding the blood of their own countrymen was about to be presented 
to the civilized world. A great statesman, in whose patriotism and wisdom the 
North had confidence, anxious to preserve the glory and renown of his country, 
determined to avert so sad a catastrophe, and presented his compromise bill. The 
cry of "disunion" then succeeded. The North gave way— the policy of the 
South triumphed. I will not attempt to depict the disastrous consequences to 
the industry of the North. The country will long remember the bitter fruits it 
produced in 1837, '38, '39, '40, and '41. 

In 1842 another tariff was enacted. It brought prosperity to the North— a tair 
reward to her free labor. To destroy this, required additional political power 
from the South. Texas had been conquered from Mexico, and Southern pohcy 



4 

demanded her annexation. The distinguished leaders of the two contending 
political parties (Mr. Clay and Mr. Van Buren) were interrogated. Both opposed 
the scheme. The Democratic party assembled in national convention at Balti- 
more. Mr. Van Buren had been the favorite candidate, until he opposed annex- 
ing Texas. The Southern Democracy, because of this opposition, plotted his 
defeat, and accomplished it by means of their Democratic rule requiring a vote 
of two-thirds to nominate at the Bahimore Convention. Mr. Polk — a new man— 
a man of the South — for " immediate annexation" — was presented as a candidate 
to the astonished Democracy of the nation. Northern Democrats halted ; but 
the South resorted to the old, but hitherto sovereign and now worn-out rcmedij — 

A THREAT TO DISSOLVE THE UniON. 

The following are evidences from Southern newspapers, showing the means 
resorted to then to drive the North again to submission : 

" At a large meeting held in South Carolina, in 1844, :t was 

"Resolved, That, in the opinion of this meeting, the annexation of Texas is a matter of -paramount 
importance to the Southern and Southwestern States of this Confederacy ; and that it icould be more 
for the interest of these States that they should stand uut of the Union with Texas, than in it xcitkoul 
her." 

" At a large meeting at Williamsburg, Virginia, held on the 17th June, of the same year, it was also 

" Resolved, That, in the opinion of this meeting, the honor and integrity of our Union require the 
immediate annexation of Texas; and that we hold it to be better, and more to the interest of the 
Southern and Southwestern portions of this Confederacy, to be out of the Union with Texas, than in 
it uiihmd her." 

"At a numerously attended meeting at Lawrence, Alabama, it was 

''Resolved, That the possession of Texas Is infinitely more important to us of this section of the 
Union than a '-^nger annexation and fr icndship with the Northeastern Statfs, and if ice have to yield 
either, it cannut. and shall not be Texas ! " 

The following notice of a speech of Colonel S. W. Trotti, delivered at a public 
meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, and copied from the Charleston Mercury, 
is of a similar disorganizing character : 

'■ He conclusively demonstrated that the safely, if not the very existence of the institution of sla- 
very, is dependent upon the success of the measure; and contended, with great power and ability, 

that THE ONLY TRUE ISSUE BEFORE THE SoUTH SHOULD BE TeXAS OR DtSUNION." 

At a public meeting held in Edgefield, at which the Hon. Mr. Pickens offici- 
ated as a committee-man, the following resolution was adopted : 

" That the grounds upon which this annexation is mainly resisted compel us to cotisi ler this meas- 
ure as a question as to tJie maintenance of slavery guarantied to us by the Constitution; and we 
avow our determination to maintain this institution against all the attempts of Abolitionists in our 
own country or elsewhere; and we shall not resist the separation from the Union of such States as 
denounce the slaveholding members of the Confederacy as unworthy of connection with (hem, and as 
avow t/ie purpose of not tolerating the admission into the Union of any new slaveholding country." 

In 1844, the South Carolinian recommended to the people of that State : 
"That a convention of the slave States, by delegations from each, appointed as aforesaid, should 
be called, to meet at some central position, to take into consideration the question of annexing Texas 
to the Union, if the Union will accept it; or, if the Union will not accept it, then of annexing Te.vas 
to the Southern States." 

'•That the President of the United States be requested by the general convention of the slave 
States to call Congress together immediately, when \r\e final issue shall be made up, and ihe alterna- 
tive distinctly presented to ihe free Slates, either lo admit Te.vas into the Union, or to proceed peace- 
ably and calmly to arrange the terms of a dissolution of the Union." 

The scheme was indignantly denounced by Senator Benton in his speech on 
annexation, in 1844. He said: 

"THE COUNTRY IS IN DANGER! NULLIFICATION AND DISUNION ARE REVI- 
VED, and revived under circumstances which menace more danger than ever, since coupled wiih a 
popular question, which gives to the plotters the honest sympathies of the patriotic millions. I have 
often intimated it before, but now proclaim ii : DISUNION IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS 
LONG-CONCEALED TEX/^S .AIACHINATION. Intrigue and speculation co-operate, but dis- 
union is at the bottom ; and I denounce it to the American People. Under the jiretcxt ol getting 
Texas into the Union, the scheme is to get the South out of it. A separate Confederacy, stretching 
from th« Aiianiic to California, (and hence the secret of the Rio Grande del Norte Irontier,) is the 
cherished vision of disappoinled ambition ; and for this consummation every eireiimslance has been 
carefully and arifully contrived. ****** THIS IS THE DESIGN, AND I 
DENOUNCE IT ! and blind is he who, occupying a position at this Capitol, does not behold it! ' 

To make success certain, the celebrated Kane Letter, on " protection," was 
written, as a Pennsylvania platform. The Keystone State was wheedled out of 
her vote, and " Polk and Texas" were elected. She was annexed as a State, and 
a political power was thus brought into the Senate ecjual to that of the most pow^- 
erful Slate in the Union. By these means, and by that power, the tariff of 1842 
was destroyed ; for, it will be remembered, the repeal passed the Senate by a 
majority of only one vote. 



The gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. Brown] complained bitterly of the 
character of the persons who were authorized to vote in California. He regarded 
the wholesale system of naturalization, as he termed it, a great outrage. He had 
forgotten, perhaps, that, but a i'ew years ago, he acquiesced not only in the annex- 
ation of a. foreign nation, (Texas,) but in the naturalization of its entire popula- 
tion, by a simple resolution ! Not only were the free foreigners themselves 
brought into the national councils, but also a representation based upon the 
slave population. 

The consequences of this annexation, predicted by Mr. Clay and other states- 
men, were fully realized. It brought a desolating war upon a sister Republic. I 
do not propose now to discuss the merits of that war. Its history is fresh in the 
memory of all. The unerring pen of history will record the purposes of those 
who brought it about as a foul blot upon the proud character of the land of Wash- 
ington. Its direful consequences will be felt throughout the land for long years 
to come, especially if the "fruits" which were demanded as a condition of peace 
should produce the sad consequences so ably depicted by the gentleman from 
Massachusetts [Mr. Mann] in the event of an attempt to dissolve this Union. 
Suffice it for my purposes to say, that there was indirect aggression tipon the 
North in the sacrifice of many of her gallant sons, whose patriotic ardor induced 
them to " follow the flag of their country." 

Mr. Chairman, the Constitution guaranties to every citizen tlie right of petition. 
Some of our Northern people believed that, in Territories over which Congress 
had power to legislate, slavery should be either immediately or prospectively abol- 
ished." They sent here their petitions. Southern power treated them with con- 
tempt, and trampled them under foot! Was there no "aggression" in refusing 
our people the exercise c^'that sacred right? 

We sent you from Ohio a Senator, [Mr. Corwin,] who, during the waging of 
that war upon a weak sister Republic, plead for the cause of humanity with a 
power and eloquence worthy the best days of Greece and Rome. His arguments 
were unanswered and unanswerable, and we had evidence of your indisposition 
to aggress upon our State pride and our feelings in the fact, that you burnt him 
*'« effigy ! 

A colleague of mine, now upon this floor, [Mr. Giddings,] was sent here to 
represent as intelligent and as patriotic a people as is to be found in the whole 
land. He presented, in the discharge of his official duty, a series of resolutions 
against Slavery and the Slave Trade. They were obnoxious to the South; and, 
with the aid of Northern Doughfaces, who are fast finding their level, you ex- 
pelled him from this hall, and attempted to disgrace him. Yet, during this ses- 
sion, we find that before we perfect an organization, a proposition is boldly made 
to dissolve the Union, by members from Southern States, in the event that the 
People's Representatives pass a particular law ; yet nothing like censure is pro- 
posed by those lately so sensitive. 

A sovereign State, New Hampshire, sends a Senator. He expresses senti- 
ments not suited to Southern tastes, and forthwith Mississippi notifies him, in 
arrogant and self-important tones, that if he were in that State he would be hung 
upon the highest tree ! 

Who has been " oppressed," in dividing the honors and emoluments of office ? 
The poor, down-trodden South ? She has almost monopolized the important 
offices since the formation of the Government. Let those who wish to have official 
evidence of her wrongs in this regard, examine the Blue Book. Virginia sutfers ! 
There are still a few of the " first families" unprovided for, and it is an act of 
unparalleled aggression ! Why, sir, so craving is her thirst for these honors, that 
I see in one town (all the whites having been provided for, I suppose) they pro- 
cure the appointment of a negro as postmaster! 

How much did we aggress in organizing this House? And who gave the 
strongest evidence of a desire to organize by geographical tests ? We always 
found, on this side of the House, Southern Whigs enough to hold the balance of 
power, who preferred the election of a Southern Democrat to a JVorthern Whig. 
On the other side, Southern Democrats enough to elect a Southern Whig in pref- 
erence to a JVorthern Democrat. And if, in the course of our efforts to organize, 



6 

any candidate, of either party, was suspected of having ever seen the city of 
Btiffalo, his fate was sealed ! 

But, Mr. Chairman, I am consuming too much of the brief hour allotted to me, 
in detailing this account of aggression. 

What has the North done to produce this loud and continual clatter about 
" aggression." Bear in mind, an act of aggression must be an act of wrong. So 
long as we act for the promotion of that which is morally right, we cannot ag- 
gress. Much complaint is made about negroes running off to the free States. I 
suppose they do sometimes stray away. But if you will keep property that will 
run off, is it our fault? We do not turn out to catch runaway negroes. There 
is a reason for that. The farmer in that beautiful valley, which I have the honor 
to represent in part, has no slave to till his soil. His family depend upon the 
labor of their own hands for support. He cannot, he will not abandon his plough 
and his fields, mount his horse, when he hears that a negro has been seen 
in the neighborhood, and follow in pursuit, on suspicion that he may be the slave 
of some member of Congress from Virginia. He has examined the Constitution, 
and finds nothing there which makes this his duty. The village mechanic in 
Ohio, who drives his jack-plane, and earns his bread by the sweat of his brow, 
will not abandon his honest pursuits, when he sees a man pass in the street with 
a skin somewhat darker than his own, and a budget on his back, follow him, 
knock him down, and tie him, because there is a possibility that a Mississippi 
planter may hold a mortgage on his bones, flesh, and sinews ! Our fair country- 
women, yielding to the tender sympathies which always adorn their sex, when 
inquired by a disconsolate passer by of their own sex, who perhaps may carry in 
her arms an infant slightly tinged, may point out the nearest and best road to 
Canada. Is there anything wrong in this ? Point it out. 

On this point let me remark, that whilst the great mass of all parties in my State 
disclaim all design to interfere with your " peculiar institution," in States where 
it constitutionally exists, they remember, and will never forget that they, too, have 
an institution the operations of which are somewhat "peculiar," which they call 
Freedom ! They have tasted its blessings, and they will throw no obstacles in the 
way of all who may strive to obtain them. If our Southern brethren, then, will 
have slaves, and these slaves will run off to Ohio, they must capture them them- 
selves. 

But we aggress on the South because our political power increases more rap- 
idly than hers. That is the result of an incsease in population. We cannot help 
it if there are peculiarites about our institution which produce this result. It is 
certainly not wrong if we obey that injunction of Holy Writ, "Multiply and re- 
plenish the earth." This complaint comes with a poor grace, especially, from the 
gentleman from North Carolina, [Mr. Clingman,] who lias, as yet, withhold from 
his country his aid in removing this source of iuccjuality. 

But we are charged with designing or threatening to aggress by the passage ol 
the " Proviso." I intend to vote for the admission of California as a State with this 
clause in her Constitution, and for a territorial law for New Mexico embracing it. 
We are told that it excludes the South from a fair share of the territory accpiired by 
common blood and common treasure ; and that it weakens the title to their prop- 
erty, and prevents them from removing it thither. This is not true, That Pro- 
viso is and has been in full force in the State of Ohio and the Northwestern Ter- 
ritory for sixty years. A large portion of her best citizens are from the South, 
The district which I immediately represent embraces a large body of the lands ot 
the Virginia military district, to which Virginians and North Carolinians emigrated 
with their property. Some took slaves with them, to whom their families wore 
attached, although they knew that the moment the foot of the slave touched that 
soil, with the niast(!r's consoit, one of the peculiarities of our institution made 
him a free man. And here let me say that the most thorough-going Free-Soil 
men, and the most violent Abolitionists there, are those furnished us by North 
Carolma and Virginia. I would be entirely .>afe in allowing my action here to be 
governed on this subject by the views of those in my district who came from slave 
States. Their warmth in favor of Free Soil may, I suppose, be attributed to that 
same principle of human action which makes the reformed drunkard the most ar- 



dent in pressing onward the cause of temperance; or the converted sinner the 
cause of Christianity. These men liad been eye-witnesses to the evil effects of 
slavery, not the least of which is its tendency to reduce to the level of the degrad- 
ed slave the free labor of the poor white man where it exists. If the Proviso is 
applied to these Mexican Territories, the Southern man as well as the Northern 
man may take his property there ; he may take his negroes if he chooses, but if 
he takes them, they cease to be property or things, and are rudiAe persons only. 

The honorable member from Mississippi [Mr. Brown] takes a bold position, if 
he is sincere, and I will not question it, notwithstanding his preposterous assertion. 
I read from his printed speech. [Mr. C. here read from Mr. Brown's speech:] 

" For myself, I regard slavery as a great moral, social, political, and religious bles- 
sing — A BLESSING TO THE SLAVE AND A BLESSING TO THE MASTER." 

The honorable gentleman (said Mr. C. ) proceeds with arguments to prove that 
great blessings are conferred upon the African by making him a slave ! Now, 
sir, if the gentleman can make this position good by sound argument, and 
if the honorable member from North Carolina [Mr. Clingman] can make good 
his declaration that where slavery exists you find the greatest degree of civilization, 
refinement, wealth, comfort, and happiness, I pledge myself to abandon the 
"Proviso," and oppose it here and elsewhere, with as much honest ardor as I 
now support it. If slavery is a blessing to the slave, how is it that the great, the 
good, and the wise of every civilized land upon earth have never learned the fact? 
This is a great age we live in, and it has been reserved for the keen perceptive 
faculties of the honorable member from Mississippi, to make the grand discovery 
that the true way to make a negro happy is to put him in chains and under the 
lash of the task-master! A discovery somewhat parallel to this in importance, 
was made by one of the gentleman's political associates, but a ^ew years ago, to 
wit: that the way to civilize the Mexican race was to knock out their brains! 

If the position of the honorable gentleman is correct, will he tell us why our 
laws do not regard that man who steals the African infant from its mother's breast, 
and bears it to perpetual bondage — who forces from his native land the father, to 
rivet upon him the chains and fetters of slavery — as a. pkilanthropist , and not as a 
feloyil Why does he not introduce a bill, entitled " a bill to make Africa happy," 
providing for the repeal of all laws j)rohibiting the slave trade, and giving to the 
philanthropists who will engage in it, 160 acres of land for each native African 
brought into slavery ? 

I must examine the morals involved in this question of slavery. Having learn- 
ed something of the high tone of moral character accorded, justly no doubt, to my 
honorable friend form Alabama, [Mr. Milliard,] I listened attentively to his elo- 
quent speech, expecting him to base his argument upon a different foundation. I 
will not say he " dodged," but I do think he evaded the question, for he was 
particular to state, with emphasis, that he could not discuss the question in its 
moral bearings, because, he said, we had nothing to do here with public morals! 
From what little I have seen here, I am induced to believe that the conduct of 
many is made to conform to this " platform." Sir, I profess no extra degree of 
morals, myself, but I may be permitted to say, considering its source, this avowal 
shocked me ! 

Mr. MILLIARD. Will the gentleman from Ohio allow me to explain and 
correct him r 

Mr. CAMPBELL. With great pleasure. 

Mr. MILLIARD. I said, that I would refrain from discussing the question as 
a moral one, because we hold no power to legislate on the morality of the ques- 
tion. To enter into a discussion here on that point might be deemed an admis- 
sion of the jurisdiction of Congress over the subject. 

Mr. CAMPBELL. I have not misunderstood the honorable gentleman, although 
I have not yet had the pleasure of reading his printed speech. To come directly 
to the point, the gentleman can now tell us whether he regards slavery as a moral 
evil or as a blessing. 

Mr. MILLIARD. I do not regard it as a moral evil in the States where it 
exists. 

Mr. CAMPBELL. Well, then, Mr. Chairman, it will be my duty as well as 



8 

my pleasure to prove that it is a moral curse. I shall do so by referring directly 
to the opinions of some men which, notwithstanding my high regard for the gen- 
tleman from Alabama, are entitled to far more weight than his. 

Mr. HILLIARD. I will ask the gentleman from Ohio a question. Admitting 
it to be morally wrong, what right have we to legislate upon the moral question? 

Mr. CAMPBELL. Sir, I will answer the gentleman's question by putting one 
to every member of the Committee. Admitting it to be morally wrong, how do 
you make \i politically right? You cannot, by any principle of philosophy that I 
have ever he.ird of make that which is absolutely morally wrong politically right 
by legislation. Why? What power, askes the gentleman, in a tone of apparent 
triumph, have we, as the representatives of the people, to legislate with a view to 
promote public morals ? Is it possible that such a question is seriously propound- 
ed, and must be seriously answered? What power? What right? A power 
which is the foundation of all civilized Government. The first great object of all 
law — of all legislation — is to enforce that which is morally right, and prevent that 
which is morally wrong. It is to accomplish this grand purpose that Govern- 
ments are instituted among men. 

But, Mr. Chairman, let us i)roceed with an examination of facts bearing upon 
the moral, social, and political effects of slavery, and show how far Southern gen- 
tlemen, in the frenzy of their excitement, have suffered themselves to depart from 
the principles and feelings of their revolutionary ancestors. And, sir, in this con- 
nection, I lay down what may be regarded by some as a bold proposition. I as- 
sert, that one of the very designs of the founders of this Republic, lohen they rebelled 
against the power of Great Britain, and formed a Union of the Provinces, was to 
prevent the extension of slavery ; to do that which you denounce us as mad fanatics 
for proposing, and for wjiich, when accomplished in. part only, according to their 
designs, you say you intend to destroy the great work of their hands — this glo- 
rious Confederacy of States — this happy Union — which secures liberty to millions, 
and has commanded the admiration of the world. 

The gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. ClingmanJ boasts that the ball of 
the Revolution was started at Mecklenburg, where a resolution was passed in 
1774. I have looked into the history of those days. There were many patriotic 
meetings in the South then. The gentleman will permit me to show some of the 
causes which led to the rebellion. 

Let us carry our imaginations back to Virginia, the Old Dominion as she was 
in 1774. I hold in niy hand the 1st volume, 4th Series, of American Archives, 
published by order of Congress. It contains an account of various public meet 
ings held preparatory to the then approaching conflict of those weak Colonies 
with the giant nation of the earth. The patriots of Virginia proposed a State 
Convention at Williamsburg. County meetings of the people were held to ap- 
point delegates, and declare their principles and determinations. 

Mr. C. here read as follows from page 523 : 

"At a meeting of the freeholders and other inhabitants of the county of Culpepner, in V'irsinia. 
assembled at the Court-House of the said county, on Thursday, the 7ih of July, 1774, to consider of 
the most effective method to preserve the rights and liberties of America, [Hexry Pendleton, Esq., 
Jilodcralor] — 

" Resolved, That the importins sIhccs and convict servants is injurious to this Cohmj. as it ob- 
structs the popula'ion of it with freemen and us'-ful manufacturers; and that u'e will nut buy any such 
slaves or convict servunts hereafter to he imported." 

This meeting appointed "deputies" to the convention. 
A Voice. " That is only a resolution against the slave trade." 
Mr. CAMPBELL. True ; such is the fact. But why did they resolve on this? 
To prevent tlie spread of slavery. Why? Because it was i\ political c\'\]. There 
are two ways in which you may extend slavery. One, by extending it over new 
countrie.s — opening new markets — increasing the demand, and CDnsetpiently 
the value — thus inducing an increased production. The other, by importations. 
The spirit ol" the resolution shows that a prohibition of its extension was the 
design. But if gentlemen will be patient, I will not only show that they opposed 
its extension, but, even in the South, sought the Union for the purpose o\' abolish- 
ing it where it existed. 



9 

Similar resolutions were passed by primary meetings of the people throughout 
Virginia ai]d other Southern provinces, now States. 

By Prince George's county July, 1774, page 493 ; 

By Nansemond county July, 1774, page 530 ; 

By Caroline county July, 1774, page 541 ; 

By Surry county July, 1774, page 593 ; 

By Fairfax county (Washington in the chair) July, 1774, page 600; 

By Harrison county July, 1774, page 616 ; 

By Princess Anne county July, 1774, page 641 ; 

and by various other counties which I need not name. 

The State Convention assembled at Williamsburg on the 1st of August, 1774. 
They adopted this resolution : 

2d. Resolved, " We will neither ourselves import nor purchase any slave or slaves imported by any 
other person after the first day of November next, either from Africa, the West Indies, or any ether 
place." — Page 637. 

This Convention recommended a Congress to meet at Philadelphia on the first 
Monday of September, 1774. Thomas Jefferson, the great apostle of liberty, 
could not attend the Convention, but he sent to it a letter expressing his opinions 
and wishes. I read an extract from page 696 : 

" For the most trifling reasons, and sometimes for no conceivable reason at all, his Majesty has re - 
jected laws of the most salutary tendency. The abolition of domestic slavery is the greatest 
OBJECT OF DESIRE IN' THESE COLONIES, where it was unhappily introduced in their infant state. But 
previous to the enfranchisement of the slaves we have, it is necessary to exclude all further importa- 
tions from Africa. Yet our repeated attempts to effict this by prohibitions, and by imposing duties 
which might amount to prohibition, have been hitherto defeated by his Majesty's negative. Thus 
preferring the immediate advantages of a few African Corsairs to the lasting interest of the Ameri- 
can States, and to the rights of human NATrRE deeply v/ounded by this infamous master ! " 

How do gentlemen relish Mr. Jefferson's views upon the mo7-al and politcal 
questions now raised on this floor i 

North Carolina held her Provincial Convention, not at Mecklenburg, but at 
Newbern. The honorable gentleman from that State on the other sidp of the 
House, [Mr. Ashe,] the other day expressed to my colleague [Mr. Root] a desire 
to know who from North Carolina had been opposed to extending slavery. I have 
"the documents" here for his information. Nearly every county in that State 
was represented in this Convention. There were sixty-nine "deputies." It was 
convened on the 27th of August, 1774, and passed this resolution. On page 735 
the gentleman will find the names of the deputies and the resolution : 

" Resolved, That we irill not import any slave or slaves, or jnirchase any slave or slaves imported or 
brought into the Province by others from any part of the world after the first day of November next." 

Mr. Chairman, I will not go further into details of the action of the Provinces 
separately. The deputies they appointed and instructed, assembled at Philadel- 
phia on the 5th of September, 1774. Let us look upon that assemblage of our 
patriot fathers — ike first Continental Congress. It was in the dark hour of our 
political history. It was " the day that tried men's souls." Yet they resolved to 
redress the grievances inflicted upon them by Great Britain, or perish nobly in the 
attempt. We are men of words — they were men of action. What was their 
design } To form a Union. The Provinces must be united. I have here the 
bond of their Union — ihe first Union! It is called the "Articles of Association." 
It was the bond of our fathers with the Almighty, whose all-protecting arm they 
desired as the shield to save them in the unequal contest they were about 
to engage in ; they pledge by it their "virtue and their honor.'' Sir, I listened the 
other day to the honorable gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Stephens] with the 
most profound satisfaction. The power of his eloquent appeal in favor of the 
purchase of Washington's Farewell Address, marred as it was by a repetition of 
the unjust charge of "Northern aggression," could not, did not, fail to awaken 
the tender sympathies and feelings of every heart not wholly lost to the impulses 
of patriotism. He spoke of the incalculable value of the autographs of our Revo- 
lutionary forefathers. Sir, I call that honorable gentleman's attention to these auto- 
graphs of the members of the first Continental Congress. 

[Here Mr. C. held up the Articles of Association, unanimously adopted by the 
Continental Congress, and containing a facsimile of the signatures appended to it, 
a correct lithograph of which is here annexed.] 



10 

Look at the bold hand of Washington, of Patrick Henry, and of Lee; of 
Hooper and Caswell; of Jay and Duane; of the Adamses; of Gadsden and 
the Rutledges ; and of Stephen Hopkins. If the gentleman, prompted by 
those noble feelings of his nature, would regard as priceless an old manuscript 
letter of a father to his son, containing advice upon his leaving the paternal 
roof to embark upon the stormy sea of this world, what should be his ven- 
eration for this document r How much should he, how much will he sacrifice 
to preserve inviolate this written pledge of our fathers to the God of battles, that 
they would check this acknowledged curse of slavery ? Sir, the gentleman in- 
voked in most pathetic and heart-reaching language the spirit of Washington to 
check his Northern brethren in what he termed their disposition of aggression. 
Could it be availing, I, too, would invoke the return of the illustrious dead from the 
tombs of Mount Vernon, of Monticello, and of Quincy, to stay the mad career of 
those who propose to destroy those glorious institutions which are the results of 
their toil — the fruits of their struggles for liberty! If I could but command the 
eloquence of the gentleman from Georgia, I could appeal, perhaps successfully, 
to him, to his colleague, [Mr. Tooimbs,] to his associates of the sunny South, to 
come back to these principles and purposes — to these holy designs of our com- 
mon ancestors — to join with us, in the spirit of brotherly love and brotherly kind- 
ness, in an effort to redeem this solemn pledge, entered into in the dreary hour 
of their misfortunes, by the founders of that Government which has secured to us 
all the blessings we can hope for in our earthly career. 

Mr. Chairman, I will read the extracts from these Articles of Association, which 
are applicable to the point : 

" We do, for ourselves and tl\e inhabitants of the several Colonies whom we represent, firmly agree 
and associate under the sacred ties of virtue, honor, and lore of our country, as follows : 

^ * ''j^ * ?^ ■*:= # # # ^ ^:: ^- # ^ 

2. "That we will neither import nor purchase any slave imported after the Jirst day of December 
next ; after uhich time ice uill uholly discontinue the slave trade, and will neither be concerned in 
it ourselves, nor will we hire our vessels, nor sell our commodities or manufactures, to those who are 
concerned in it. 

11. ''That a committee be chosen in every county, city, and town, by those who are qualified to 
vote for representatives in the Lesislature, whose business it shall be attentively to observe the con- 
duct of all persons touching this Association ; and when it shall be made to appear, to the satisfaction 
of a majority of any such committee, that any person within the limits of ihsir appointment has vio- 
lated this Association, that such majority do forthwith cause the truth of the case to be published in 
the gazette, to the end tliat all such foes to the rights of British America may be publicly known, 
and universally contemned as the enemies of American liberty ; and thenceforth we respectively will 
break off all dealings with him orJier. 

14. " And we do further agree and resolve that we will have no trade, commerce, dealings, or inter- 
course whatever, with any Colony or Province in North America, which shall not accede to, or 
which shall hereafter violate this Association, but will hold them as unvortlnj of the rifrhts nf freemen, 
and as inimical to the liberties of this country. 

"The foregoing Association, being determined upon by the Congress, was ordered to be subscribed 
by the several members thereof; and thereupon, we have hereunto set our respective names accord- 
ingly. 

"/« Congress, Philadelphia, October 20, 1774. PEYTON RA\DOLP,H, President. 

"New Hampshire— John Sullivan, Nathaniel Folsom. 

" Massachusetts /7ay— Thomas Gushing, Sninuel .Vdams, John Adams, Robert Treii Paine. 

" Ithode /s/a/u/— Stephen Hopkins, Samuel Ward. 

" Conncrtii:ut—V.\\\tW,\\v{ Dyer, Romr Sherman, Silas D-'nne. 

" SexT Yo7-A-— Isaac l.nw, .lohn Alsop, John Jay, James Duane, Philip Livingston, William Floyd, 
Henry Wisner, Simon Boerum. 

" New Jersey- -James Kinsey, William Livinaston, Stephen Crane, I^ichard Smith, John De Hart. 

" Pennsylvania— iii?f])\\ Galloway, John Dickinson, Charles Humphreys, Thomas Mifilin, Edward 
Biddic, John Morton. George Ross. 

" The loiter counlic.i, JS'evrastle, tf-r. — Ca?sar Rodney, Thomas M'K< an, George Read. 

" Maryland -^l,i[i\u\v Tilghman, Thomas Johnson, jr., William Paca, Saniuel Chase. 

^' rirg^iHia— Richard Henry Eee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, jr., Richard Bland, Benja- 
min Harrison, Edmund I'enaleton. 

" North Cf/ro/i/fu— William Hooper, Joseph Hcwes, Richard Caswell. 

"South < 'arol inn— llfi:ry Middleion, Thomas Lynch. Christopher Gadsden, John Ruiledge, Ed- 
ward Rutledgc." 

Mr. BOWDON. 1 would iiuiuirc of the gentleman from Ohio wiiether he calls 
that the Constitution of the Union .^ 



tm ^ia^T<^ i^if I 



11 

Mr. CAMPBELL. I will with pleasure inform the honorable gentleman from 
Alabama. It is not the last Constitution of the Union, but higher evidence to 
prove the point I make, which is that the Provinces formed their first Union, 
among other things, to check the progress of slavery! The gentleman from Ala- 
bama on the other side of the Hall [Mr. Iage] the other day spoke of the Con- 
tinental Congress, and of the Declaration of Independence, as a production from 
that august body of patriots, called for by the pressure of public opinion from 
without. So with this document, which is a Declaration two years older than the 
Declaration of Independence itself. The outside pressure of public opinion on 
the subject of slavery, expressed at the various primary meetings of the people 
themselves, some of which I have referred to, recjuired, as a preliminary step to 
the contemplated resistance against Great Britain, a solemn pledge that slavery 
should go no further ; and it must be borne in mind that these fathers carried 
with them the same spirit and the same design when they subsequently entered 
into more formal articles, passed the Ordinance of 1787, and formed our present 
Constitution. 

Georgia was not represented in the Continental Congress, as you will observe. 
The reasons which prevented a representation I need not detail. Still the patriots 
of that Province in that good old time, unlike her misguided but no doubt sincere 
representatives on this floor, were determined not to be behind the other Colonies 
in their efforts to secure to themselves and to extend to those then in slavery the 
blessings of freedom. 

Georgia proclaimed her sentiments on the r2th of January, 1775, after the ad- 
journment of the Continental Congress, (page 1136:) 

"We, therefore, the Representatives of the extensive District of Darien, in the Colony of Georgia, 
having now assembled in Congress, by authority and free choice of the inhabitants of said District, 
now I'reed from their fetters, do resolve : 

" 5. To show the xcorld that we are not influenced by any contracted or interested mot'ves, but a gen- 
eral philanthropy for all mankind, of uhatevtr climate, language, or complexion, we hereby declare 
our disapprobation and abhorrence of the unnatural practice of slavery in America, (however the 
uncultivated state of our country or other specious arsrutnents may plead for it,) a practice. fou?id€d in 
injustice and cruelty, and highly dangerous to our liberties, (as well as lives.) debasing part of our 
fellow-creatures below men, and corrupting the virtue and jnorals of the rest, and is laying the basis 
of that liberty we contend for, (.and which we pray the Almighty to continue to the latest posterity,) 
upon a very wrong foundation. We tnerefore Resolve, at all times, to use our utmost endeavors for 
the manumission of our slaves in this Colony, upon the most safe and equitable footing for the master 
and themselves." 

Such was the action — these were the sentiments upon this question of moral 
and political right, when the foundation of our great superstructure was laid, and 
which was subsequently cemented with the blood of our heroic ancestors. 

Sir, I have offered the testimony exclusively Southern, not of Northern Provinces. 
I would that we could but summon here those veterans to give us with a living 
voice their opinions just as they are here recorded. Would Washington be 
scouted from this Hall as a recreant to the best interests of his country ? Would 
the Virginian denounce Jefferson as a traitor, because he said slavery was an 
execrable practice; or Patrick Henry as a " fanatic " because he avowed his dovo- 
tion to the cause of human freedom, in that ever-memorable burst of eloquence 
in the Virginia Convention, closing with "Give me liberty, or give me death! '^ 

Suppose this hall was now occupied by the old Continental Congress, this 
question raised, and they unanimously declare slavery a moral and political evil — 
would the honorable gentlemen from Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, and 
Georgia, denounce them as recreants to their country .' Oh ! no. Why, then, do 
they disavow the principles their fathers proclaimed "t Does not the experience of 
the last half century prove that they truly foresaw the blighting effects of this evil of 
which they desired to rid themselves.? The rapid increase of the States, where 
slavery does not exist, in power and strength, and everything calculated to render 
life agreeable, establishes the wisdom of their determination. 

Some of the States who were parties to this obligation have redeemed their 
pledges. We now propose to carry out, as far as we can, their original purpose. 

Mr. STANLY. To abolish slavery in the States ? 

Mr. CAMPBELL. We will not do that where under the Constitution it exists. 
We leave that matter for you to attend to as you like ; but we, having power over 



12 

the Territories, intend to follow these wholesome counsels from the founders of the 
Government, and exclude slavery from them forever by the power of public senti- 
ment — by the power of the law — and, if necessary, in maintaining the majesty of 
the law, by the power of the sword ! 

Mr. BOWDON. Will the gentleman from Ohio show us the power in the 
Constitution to pass such a law ? 

Mr. CAMPBELL. I have much to say yet in the little time that is left me. I 
have spoken by time^before, and if I regarded the constitutional question as doubt- 
ful, I would not now oo into it. If the honorable oentleman desires a discussion 
of that question with me, I will meet him on any stump either in Alabama or 
Ohio after Congress adjourns. It will save some money to discuss it in that way. 
For the present, I content myself by saying that the question of power has been 
decided in our favor by Congress, and by the various Administrations from the 
organization of the Government to the present time, and it Mill soon be settled 
again, notwithstanding the threats of a dissolution of the Union ! If the gentle- 
man intends to debate that question here, I desire to be informed in what arti- 
cle of the Constitution is the power found which enables you to stretch a wire 
on the line of 36° 30', your proposed compromise, and legislate to establish slavery 
on one side of it, and prohibit it on the other? And on what principle of political 
justice to the North do you claim that an Alabamian may go with one hundred 
slaves, settle on one side of this wire, and come into this hall with a power of 
sixty-one votes, whilst the Ohioan, who takes property equal in value to a State 
on the other side, comes here wiih the power of one vote only? The arguments 
offered on these points remind me of those once offered by the opposition in re- 
lation to the improvements of our Western rivers and harbors, claiming that the 
constitutionality as well as the justice of the measure depended upon the charac- 
ter of the water — whethery)T5-^ or salt ! [A laugh.] 

Mr. BOWDON. Did liot that argument come from Ohio? 

Mr. CAMPBELL. I believe the sentiment came from Mr. Polk, and my col- 
league [Mr. Schenck] dressed it up in plain English, that our hardy boatmen 
who navigate the Western rivers, and the sailors on our lakes, might readily per- 
ceive its tremendous force ! 

I now proceed, briefly, Mr. Chairman, to examine the other proposition of the 
gentleman from North Carolina, [Mr. Clingman,] as to the relative degree of civ- 
ilization and human happiness in the slave and free States. The gentleman has 
instituted a comparison which, if left unanswered, may injure the interests of the 
State which I have the honor in part to represent. It may deter some of his 
prosperous and wealthy people from emigrating thither; and we find, when they 
get to Ohio, they are the unflinching advocates of the principle of the Ordinance 
of '87, which has produced a prosperity of which we do not boast, but of which 
we are not ashamed. 

Upon the question as to what is ti'ue happiness and comfort there may be some 
difference of opinion. It is a very comfortable thing, no doubt, to have a negro 
to rub you down when you get up in the morning, after having been off on a 
" bust" the night before ! — to pour out your sherry at dinner — to bring you a 
light when you wish to take your evening smoke — or to keep off the flies as you 
take your afternoon's snooze ! This is mere animal comfort. In the Northwest, 
we believe that the cultivation of the intellect — the advancement of public morals — 
are the true sources of public happiness. Hence, we build churches and school- 
houses — found colleges and academies — establish literary associations and Sun- 
day schools ! I take up the gauntlet thrown down so vaunt ingly by the honora- 
ble gentleman, and it is by this standard that I bring uj) Ohio, my native State, 
the' " first-born" under the Ordinance of 17S7, and proudly place her by the side 
of the Southern States, to meet her examination and an unbiased verdict. 

I take my statistics from the census tables returned in 1S40. Ohio has about 
one-half only ol' th(i white population of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississipj)i, c/ir//f of the " prosperous 
and happy" slave States, yet she sends to t^choo] forty-two thousand more children 
than the whole of them toirether. 



13 

Ohio has about the same white population as North Carohna, South Carolina, 
Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, united, and she has eightten hundred and 
fifteen more colleges, academies, and schools, than the whole five together, and 
sends to school one hundred and thirty-one thousand more children ! 

In order to bring this test nearer to our immediate homes, I propose bringing 
the district I have the honor to answer for here, into comparison with the honora- 
ble member's " happy" constituents. I do not boast of the intelligence of my 
constituents — they are about on an equality with the balance of the State. There 
is one county in the gentleman's district, whose people, I suppose, he had in his 
mind's eye, when he was depicting the prosperous and happy condition of the 
South ! It ought to be the most intelligent county south of Mason and Dixon, if 
we may judge from the vast number of speeches which have been made for its 
special improvement. \i is ihe conniy oi Buncombe ! [Laughter.] The statis- 
tics show that my district, composed of three counties, has two hundred and forty- 
three colleges and schools, and sends to them upwards of: fifteen thousand scholars. 
Buncombe has one" college and the startling number of one whole school! [laugh- 
ter] — precisely the same number that you find sustained in several of our villages 
by the free negroes ! I do not know that it should be counted as a whole school 
either, because, by reference to the other column, I see it contains only ten 
scholars ! 

Buncombe gives one school to every 4,000 of her white population — my dis- 
trict, one to every 275. 

My district sends one out of five of her white population to school. Buncombe 
sends one of 3.50 ! 

A Voice. You take no account of our private schools, not returned by the 
census. 

Mr. CAMPBELL. Nor do I take any account of oiir private schools. Every 
log cabin in my district is a private school-house ! You can find those there 
who seldom get to public schools. In the long winter evenings you will find 
collected by tlie fireside, the evidences of that increase of population complained 
of, a circle of flaxen-haired, hearty boys and girls. The oldest has perhaps ad- 
vanced at school to the " rule of three," and has a class of younger ones in sim- 
' pie addition at home — calculating, not the value of the Union, but probably the 
number of bushels of corn taken to market during the day. In this way, many 
of our people are educated; and not a few of those thus brought up find their 
way, in the course of time, to seats in this House. I have a constituent, now in 
my mind, [Senator Corwin,] Avho was born in Kentucky, and came to my dis- 
trict, when a little boy, which is now his home, who received his education in 
one of these private schools of ours ! At the age of sixteen, he drove baggage- 
wagons with supplies for the army which defended our frontier. On his return, 
he was crippled in his wagoning operations. Being confined for a year, he be- 
took himself to study, and, at the end of that time, without the aid of teacher, 
became master of the Latin and Greek languages ! The " crack of his whip" has 
been heard in both branches of Congress; and, if the Union is not dissolved too 
soon, we would like to see how he could manage the great team of state ! 

But I have heard of these "private schools" of the South before. I will apply 
another test, which may be more satisfactory and more just ! 

In the five slave States above named there are of whites over twenty years of 
age, who cannot read or write, 138,000. In Ohio (with the same white popula- 
tion) there are of those who cannot read or write, .35,000. Showing in the same 
slave States, with the same white population of Ohio, one hundred and three thou- 
sand more white adults who cannot read or write than we do. Your private 
schools, therefore, are not quite so efficient as ours. I will not say that your 
scholars are not as apt as ours, as that might be regarded as " aggressive." 

How is it in Buncombe ? Her white population over twenty years old is 3,345. 
Of these there are who cannot read or write, 1,359. Or for every three adults who 
can read or write she has two who cannot. 

Taking her whole white population, there is one to six who cannot read or 
write, fn my district, we have one to thirty-two. In the five slave States above 
named, of this class, there is one to fourteen. In OhiO; only one to forty-two! 



14 

In giving these statistics their proper force, two things must he borne in mind. 
1st. That the slave population of the South, few of whom are educated, is not 
included. *2d. That they have slaves to perform their labor whilst they may go to 
school, and in Ohio we labor for ourselves. 

I refer the gentlemen, who have pressed this investigation upon me, to a table, 
which is the result of some labor. It will be a convenient thing for them. They 
can at any time, by reference to it, ascertain how happy they are, compared with 
■the people of my State, with as much precision as they can ascertain the day of 
the month by referring to the counting-house calendar, or how cold it is by 
looking at the thermometer ! I give the proportion of the whole white popula- 
tion who, being* over twenty years old, cannot read or ivrife : 

Buncombe county, North Carolina 1-6 

North Carolina 1-8 

Georgia 1-13 

Virginia 1-13 

South Carolina 1-13 

Alabama 1-14 

jVIississippi 1-15 

Ohio 1-42 

It will be observed that North Carolina stands highest in the scale of human 
happiness, civilization, and refinement, and that the good people of Buncombe 
are particularly blest ! [Laughter.] If iheir distinguished representative here is 
not satisfied with this exhibition of his constituents, in future he may remember 
the old adage, that " those who live in glass houses should not throw stones ! " 
[Laughter.] 

Mr. ASHE. Will the gentleman favor us with a comparison of the statistics of 
crime r 

Mr. CAMPBELL. My time is so nearly out that I cannot. If it will comfort 
the o-entleman in his present tribulation, I will admit that Northern penitentiaries 
show more convicts than Southern ones. The reason is obvious to everybody, 
everywhere : we punish our rascals, you allow yours to run at large ! [Laughter.] 
At least we have seen some recent evidence of this fact. 

Something about crime was said by the honorable member from South Carolina 
[Mr. Burt] the other day, in explanation, after the member from Massachusetts 
[Mr. Mann] had closed. His purpose seemed to be to relieve Southern people 
from the inference of cupidity, raised by the assertion, that they would not hang a 
slave for a crime for which a white man was punished with death. He stated, that 
so far was the assertion from truth, the fact was, that a slave was hung for sundry 
offences, which, if perpetrated by a white man, were not so punished. Now, I 
have been told, that in many slave States, where the slave is so punished, the law- 
provides that the master shall he paid for him at public expense. I do not know 
that this is true. 

Several Voices. " It is true." 

Mr. CAMPBELL. Then the South is not relieved from the implication of 
mercenary motives by the facts. 

Sir, when that honorable gentleman, or any other Southern gentleman, speaks 
to this ([ucstion, I wish to direct his particular attention to this point. Upon 
what princii)le of moral right, or of justice, do you make this discrimination ? 
You denounce us, if u-e i)ropose to enlighten the slave, as "aggressors" — you 
refuse to teach him yourselves — to fix upon his mind the impress of morality, and 
his duties to his fellow man — you doom him to degradation, and ignorance of 
the right, and yet hang him for the wrong, whilst the master, who h-nows and is 
iauglii wliat are his duties, is permitted to go unwliijjjx'd of justice. Sir, that 
All-just God, who rules the destinies of the world, will make no such distinctions 
in our favor, when, in a 'if^w brief years, we shall be sun)nioned to answer at the 
bar of Heaven ! 

Mr. Chairnum, gentlemen from the South insist upon calculating the value oi 
this Union. We of the North will not. I regard it as more profitable to calcu- 
late the value of the Proviso against extending slavery. Gentlemen talk about 



15 

their Southern Convention, and about dissolving the Union. I have already 
shown that this is the old scheme of a few bewildered men, who perhaps are led 
on, as Mr. Benton informs us, by an unhallowed ambition ! It is a matter of 
deep regret to me that some of those with whom I deeply sympathized in former 
struggles, whose noble efforts in the cause of their country have commanded our 
admiration, are now disposed to unite with them in the "dream of a separate in- 
dependence — a dream to be interrupted by bloody conflicts with their neighbors, 
and a vile dependence on a foreign Power" — to join them in renouncing the glo- 
rious flag of our country — in destroying the peace of mankind, and deluging our 
fertile fields in blood ! As to a dissolution of the Union, it cannot occur! We 
will not contemplate it ! Coolly and firmly determined to carry out the great 
principles of our fathers — unawed by the storm which may threaten — we will fol- 
low the advice of the great and good Washington, " discountenancing whatever 
may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned, and indig- 
nantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion 
of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link 
together the various parts." Sir, the attempt may be made, but the whole North, 
with thousands in the Soutli, will resist it to the last ! 

The gentleman from North Carolina, [Mr. Clingman,] with a coolness by no 
means creditable to his patriotism, calculates it as a matter of dollars and cents ! 
You do not find the Yankee making such calculations ; and why ? Because it 
wont pay — it wont pay even the expense of slaie pencil. He has " run the mat- 
ter over in his head," and considers it a scheme which it is impossible to carry 
out. He knows it cannot be accomplished, and he would as soon think of cal- 
culating the costs of a railroad to the moon ! But the honorable gentleman has, 
no doubt, worn out many slate pencils in the cause, and has given us the benefit 
of his figures ! I have no time to expose farther the fallacy of his conclusions, if 
it were necessary. 

A few words as to his proposed "Northern boundary" of the contemplated 
' Southern Confederacy." He bids high for " Old Kentuck," and makes the Ohio 
river the dividing line. The gentleman forgot, (if he ever knew,) that there are 
strong natural ties which unite Ohio and Kentucky. Their citizens never can — 
they never will become foreigners to each other! The hardy sons of Ohio have uni- 
ted their destinies for life with Kentucky's fair daughters. We are one people, 
and I think I may safely say that when the struggle comes, if come it must, Ohio 
and Kentucky will be found as they were in the last war with Great Britain in de- 
fence of our frontier, shoulder to shoulder under the flag of the Union, bearing 
as their motto, " One country — one Constitution — one destiny! " 

The gentleman bids for Kentucky to join in this unhallowed plot. What is his 
bid ? Kentucky, being a stock-raising State, is to have a monopoly of the Southern 
market ! The old Northwest — Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, &,c., are to be 
shut out from the immense benefits of the Southern market! I do not suppose 
the gentleman regards Kentuckians as fools, but he underrates their business facul- 
ties very much if he thinks they would be willing to exchange the New England 
market for their products for that of Charleston. They know that the rule would 
work both ways. And when the Northwest is driven from the South with her 
pork, her beef, and her flour, I suggest, for the consideration of members from 
Louisiana, that there might be a falling off" in the exports from New Orleans 
which are now paraded to show the vast resources of the South! 

I should like to be present, Mr. Chairman, [Mr. Linn Botd being in the chair,] 
in your district, when the brave sons of the " dark and bloody ground " should 
be assembled to hear the first disunion speech. What would be their feelings 
on hearing as an argument for disunion, that by shutting out from JNIobile the 
pork raised by their brothers or sons in Ohio and Indiana, the value of Kentucky 
pigs would be increased ten cents a head ? What would your people do with 
such an orator? They would snake-poll him out of the district and set the dogs 
on him ! 

The gentleman wants Maryland too. If he can get Maryland, he will make 
Baltimore the New York of the South ! Well, sir, if Maryland thinks it best to 
take this sort of " street paper" without any endorsement or mortgage security, 



16 

she had better suspend her Baltimore and Ohio railroad ; we of the great North- 
west would be compelled to take the Pittsburg route ! 

Mr. Chairman, I will not pursue the absurdities of the arguments which have 
been offered in favor of disunion. Whenever the proper time comes — v.henever 
there are any " overt acts," arguments more potent than mine will be furnished 
by the " Commander-in-chief" at the other end of the Avenue. " Old Whitey " 
nips the grass on the public grounds, and will be in good plight ! 

I have shown some of the reasons why I am in favor of the Proviso of the Or- 
dinance of '87. I designed going at large into an exhibition of its practical 
effects. For want of time I will relate an anecdote which is calculated to impress 
them upon the mind. 

I have a constituent who has been an eye-witness to the rapid progress of that 
Territory to which our Revolutionary fathers first applied it. He is a native of 
the " Old Dominion," and at the age of sixteen fought in the battles of Eutaw, 
of Camden, and of Guilford Court-House. The Northwest Territory was then a 
vast, unbroken wilderness, uninhabited save by the savage and the wild beast. 
No keel had ruffled the smooth surface of her magnificent lakes and rivers. Her 
boundless forests were untouched by the woodman ! The sod of her vast prairies 
was unbroken by the agriculturist ! In 1787 it was decreed that this soil should 
never be polluted by the foot of slavery ! In '89 he left his friends, and with his 
rifle upon his shoulder cast his destiny tliere. In that year he taught, in a log 
cabin on the banks of the beautifuT Ohio, the second school of the JS'orthweslern 
Territory. Subsequently lie aided to "carry up the corner" of the first log cabin, 
where now stands the great city of Cincinnati ! In 1802 he was a member of 
the Convention which framed the Constitution of Ohio, and aided in embodying 
in it the clause piohibiting slavery. Sir, that man still lives to witness its fruits. 
Four millions of freemen are happy there, with no fears of insurrections to trouble 
them in the stillness of the night — the lamentations of no slave to disturb their 
repose. Instead of the single hut, surrounded by savages, thousands of colleges, 
academies, churches, and school-houses, adorn the land, and tens of thousands of 
merry children acquire in them those impressions which^will make them useful 
to their country and prepare their souls for eternity. Sir, I relate this anecdote 
to challenge gentlemen to point me in the history of all the world to any coun- 
try, in any age, where, in the lifetime of one man, such progress has been made, 
and for the purpose of pointing to these monuments there erected to the patriot- 
ism, wisdom, and sagacity of those who formed the old Continental Congress of 
1774 ! That individual, although aged, still lives, and is still physically able to 
protect the family of a native of that soil who is absent from his home to urge, 
as a solemn duty, the passage of the same provision for the Territories which our 
posterity must occupy. 

Before high Heaven, let me say, that duty, regardless of consequences, will be 
discharged. That person will urge upon all to keep up the lights of liberty en- 
kindled by our fathers ; that we may be directed by them in the advancement of 
measures which will secure the highest degree of perfection of "which man in his 
fallen condition is susceptible in this life ; and when " its fitful dream is over," a 
place in that land where sorrows and oppressions never come. 

Uueil 6i, IJla-iiclidixi, I'nijlers. 



HOLLINGER 
pH 8.5 

MILL RUN F3-1543 



